The Boots
by Runner043
Summary: Kono works with Vice while she awaits IA's decision. Rated T just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

I'm usually a Flangell writer (Flack & Angell) for CSI:NY, and it dawned on me how much Officer Kono Kalakaua reminds me of Detecive Jessica Angell; strong and independent, feminine when they want to be, kick-ass when they need to be. I can totally see Kono in this scenario given her current situation. This is a re-write of my previous Flangell story titled "2B Continued", if you read my stuff you'll recognize it.

This story takes place after S2 E1; Steve is out of prison, Five-0 is the Governor's Task Force again, Kono is still under investigation by IA. But that doesn't mean she can't keep busy.

Disclaimer: all Hawaii Five-0 characters belong to CBS, including Chief of Police Mahaka & Sargeant Duke Lukela

My characters are: Vice Agent Vincent Eppes, Vice Agent Jasmine Miena (my-ee-nah), Detective Caroline Walton, Abbie Webster, Laura Hopes, Detective Ikaika Paulo, and Detective Tiko Apo

"THE BOOTS" chapter 1  
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<p>

Detective Danny Williams smiled. All was right in his world again; Steve's name had been cleared, Five-0 was again a Task Force backed by the Governor, Chin was back and even got to keep his promotion to Lieutenant, and Rachel and Grace would be back after visiting family in New Jersey for a few days. Okay, so his world was 'almost' alright again. They were still awaiting word on Kono's return.

"Come on, Danny. Let's get inside. Our perp's probably though being booked by now." Steve said as they exited the Camaro, then the two men headed into HPD to conduct the interrogation.

INSIDE HPD...

"What's goin' on?" Steve and Danny both inquire of Sargeant Duke Lukela at the front desk as they look around.

"Vice is here." Sargeant Lukela stated from his perch, "Oh, and guys,... if you happen to see Officer Kalakaua... uh, I mean,... well, it's sort of a habit to call her-"

"Kono." Danny stated to the man behind the front desk. "Just call her Kono for now."

Sargent Lukela nodded, he was one of many who wanted to see her back on active duty with Five-0 as soon as possible. "Right." He agreed with a nod, then continued, "As I was saying, if you happen to see Kono, I'd be real careful what you say." He warned.

"Why's that?" they both wanted to know.

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough." Sargeant Lukela answered, before reaching for a ringing phone.

Steve and Danny proceeded into the bullpen and were immediately waved over by Chief of Police Mahaka, "McGarrett, Williams, over here."

"What's up, Sir?" Danny asks, seeing that an exodus from the bullpen had occurred.

"Meeting with Vice, in the conference room." Chief Mahaka explains. "You're just in time. Lieutenant Kelly is already in there, listening in, as there may be a tie-in with one of your cases."

Steve was first to walk through the double doors, they open into the hallway that leads to the conference room, he starts to turn left, but notices Kono and two other females, one he vaguely recognizes and one he doesn't, to his right. They are headed in the opposite direction and don't see him, but he smiles anyway. Just seeing Kono at HPD made him feel a little better about her current situation, because IA had decided that she was allowed to do some supervised projects for HPD to keep her benefits going and get at least some pay. He knew it wasn't much, wasn't enough, but it was better than nothing and gave them all hope that she would soon be back to the work she was called to do.

"Yo, Steve, ya gonna just stand there blockin' the doorway or what?" Danny asked from behind him.

"Oh, sorry, Danny." Steve replied, not realizing he'd stopped as he watched Kono walk down the hall and disappear from sight.

IN THE CONFERENCE ROOM...

"This is Agent Vincent Eppes with Vice." Chief Mahaka said to the group of officers, detectives, and Five-0 gathered in the conference room, "He has an operation going down for the next two days that we all need to know about."

"Thank you, Chief." Eppes said, taking center stage, "As you know, there have been a string of murdered prostitutes in this area," He began, as he gestured to the referred location on a map. "They were all identified as being from the mainland, until the most recent one. Laura Hopes was a local and we suspect she ticked off her pimp. Hopefully today and tomorrow's operation will shed some light on that possibility. What actually brings me here today is that we've had this sting operation planned for a long time, but two of our three agents were suddenly called away due to a major break in another case they are involved with. So we're recruiting two officers from your precinct to take their place."

MEANWHILE...

"Oh yes, you ladies are going to be just perfect when I'm finished with you." Jose exclaimed, his giddiness was not lost on the three women standing before him. Jose had been a make-up artist, hair stylist, and costume designer in the porn industry. To avoid prosecution in a case that involved several underage girls, he'd agreed to help Vice out with his specialized talents when they requested.

Kono looked at Jose with something just short of disgust. Despite his flamboyance, he was still sizing the three women up like pieces of meat. She avoided his gaze, instead looking at the racks of clothes they would be trying on in just moments. 'Oh goody, my one day to look like a porn star.' She mockingly told herself.

LATER, IN THE CONFERENCE ROOM...

Steve, Danny, and Chin continued listening to Eppes as several others entered the room, including Kono. She didn't look anything like herself, fortunately.

"Basically the only thing we'll ask of you is to stay away from the operations area. We wanna catch these Johns, not scare them away." Eppes said. "And I see that our stylist Jose has finished just in time for you to see his work."

"Aren't they just wonderful." Jose exclaimed with hand movements that would remind anyone of Danny, as he referred to the three women he'd just made over for their assignment. "Bet you wouldn't have even recognized them." He added rather smugly.

Chin recognized his cousin immediately, but only because she was doing that nail biting habit she did when she was tense. Very tense. And this had to be making her very tense. He knew that being asked as a last minute substitute in a Vice operation like this was nothing short of degrading to her. And truth was, he didn't like it much, either.

Steve and Danny gave each other a sideways glance. This Jose character just almost gave them the creeps, with his slicked back black hair, obviously tweezed brows, and he may have thought he was runway ready in those clothes but they thought he just looked stupid. They watched as he flamboyantly waltz over to the women to show off his work.

"I've given their 'customers' some variety." Jose proudly informed everyone, "You've got your classic look here." He said, referring to HPD's own Detective Caroline Walton. Walton is a tall, medium built woman with shoulder length curly brown hair. She wore the typical tight fitting low cut red top with a denim mini skirt and red pumps. "Then for the upper-class business man out there." Jose said, gesturing to Vice Agent Jasmine Miena. Miena is a very petite woman, maybe a size 2, with sleek light blond hair cut in a bobb at her chin. She wore a figure hugging knee length light blue dress with black pumps. "And here we have something-

_'Some...'thing'?'_ Chin thought to himself, silently fuming. Jose had just referred to his cousin as a 'thing' and the short scrawny little man was really lucky he didn't rip his head off at the moment. It was all Chin could do not to deck the creep right then, after all, his hands were already balled into fists, but he felt Steve's hand on his shoulder, obviously in a calming effort.

_'Some...'thing'?_' Kono thought to herself, trying to remain professional and not let her disgust show. 'Oh, God, I feel like a piece of meat on display up here. I'd really like to just crawl into a hole right now, or maybe just disappear so they can't see me.'

-for the man who likes his fantasies." Jose continued, gesturing to Kono. Kono fit into what could be described a slight dominatrix category. Her dark hair pulled back tight into a high sleek pony tail with a french twist extension that caused it to hang near her waist. Her make up was heavy, especially her eyes and lips. A black leather bustier that laced up the back matched the very tight short shorts she was wearing. Her black stiletto boots were thigh-high, zipping up the back and tapering upwards in the front, allowing just a few inches of the fishnet stockings to show on her upper thighs. Jose had actually told her that a cape and whip would complete the look, but he didn't want to go over the top, especially too early during the day.

A moment later, as if nothing unusual was going on, Eppes wraps up the meeting, then thanks Chief Mahaka for his time.

Chief Mahaka briefly retook center stage, "While I have you all here, let me remind you of the Mayor's granddaughter who's still missing. You're all excellent sources for information on the streets, so keep those eyes and ears open and let's bring this missing girl home to her family." And with that, everyone was dismissed, filing out of the room, leaving Vice and the two from HPD to have a final meeting.

THE BULLPEN...

A few minutes later Kono walks into the bullpen, heading for her temporarily assigned desk where she saw her cousin Chin waiting to talk to her. Despite the heat, she now wore a light weight trench-style coat, but she knew that didn't change the memories of her co-workers who had all seen her in that ridiculous outfit she still wore underneath. Her entrance gets her several unwelcome stares from the male members of the squad, including one Detective Ikaika Paulo. Paulo had never liked Five-0 and was now rather opinionated on Kono's IA problems, something he had made sure she was aware of. Of course that didn't stop him from leering at her every chance he got.

Kono l stopped and glared at Paulo, who's mouth had opened as if to speak. "Not one word, Paulo. Not one word." She sternly warned him. "Unless you want your balls handed to you in a paper bag,... not one word had better come out of that mouth of yours." And with that she turned away from him and proceeded towards her desk, not sure if the angry tone in her voice worked with Paulo or turned him on. Given the outfit he knew she was wearing under that long coat, she'd rather not speculate on those options.

"Aw, come on Kono, it's not like you can blame the guy." Detective Tiko Apo said.

Kono froze mid stride at hearing his words, then slowly turned to Apo. He knew he was in trouble the second he opened his mouth and now that he could see the look on her face, there was no doubt about it.

A few steps was all it took for Kono's long legs to reach Apo, and she quickly planted her foot down hard on the front edge of his chair between his knees, causing him to shift back as far in his seat as possible. She placed her hands on the arm rests of his chair and leaned forward, closer to his face, invading his space, "What did you just say to me?" She sternly asked.

"Um, I uh,..." He stammered, then nervously looks down at the tip of her boot dangerously close to him. He should have just kept his mouth shut at that point, but foolishly didn't. "It's the boots." He said with a shrug, as if her current attire gave justification, as if she was supposed to understand and accept.

She leaned further into his space, her right knee now peeking out from her coat and up near his chest and the tip of her boot just brushing the inseam of his pants. This causing him to swallow hard and squirm in an attempt to get back further into his chair, which didn't work. "You got a problem with my boots?" She asks sternly. She knew she had put him in his place, she could see the sweat beading up on his brow.

Apo immediately shakes his head, "No. No problem at all, Kono."

Kono slowly raises up, "Good." Is all she says, before giving his chair a hard push with her boot, causing it to roll back about six feet. She gives him a brief stare before turning away and continuing towards her desk, hearing him give a heavy sigh of relief as she walks away.

Chin did surprising well at how he took in what had just played out in front of him. He liked Detective Apo, knew he was letting his mouth get the best of him at the moment, and would let it slide, probably, since his cousin had just, once again, proved herself most capable of putting any man in his place. Paulo on the other hand, was just an ass that really needed to be put in his place a lot more often, by anyone.

**HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0,**

I hope you enjoyed the intro chapter. In chapter 2 you will find out how Kono likes working with Vice.

Please leave a review before you go. Thanks.


	2. Chapter 2

I'm usually a Flangell writer (Flack & Angell) for CSI:NY, and it dawned on me how much Officer Kono Kalakaua reminds me of Detecive Jessica Angell; strong and independent, feminine when they want to be, kick-ass when they need to be. I can totally see Kono in this scenario given her current situation. This is a re-write of my previous Flangell story titled "2B Continued", if you read my stuff, you'll recognize it.

This story takes place after S2 E1; Steve is out of prison, Five-0 is the Governor's Task Force again, Kono is still under investigation by IA. But that doesn't mean she can't keep busy.

Disclaimer: all Hawaii Five-0 characters belong to CBS, including Chief of Police Mahaka & Sargeant Duke Lukela

My characters are: Vice Agent Vincent Eppes, Vice Agent Jasmine Miena (my-ee-nah), Detective Caroline Walton, Abbie Webster, Laura Hopes, Detective Ikaika Paulo, and Detective Tiko Apo

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>"THE BOOTS" Chapter 2<br>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FOUR HOURS LATER...

"That's five so far." Walton said to her two counterparts. "Seems like we're reelin' 'em in as fast as we can get back here to the sidewalk."

A chain link fence ran along the sidewalk that was designated as their location, behind it the parking lot for a 2-star hotel where they told their Johns they already had a room waiting for them. They had a room alright. It was set up with surveillance cameras and audio equipment. They weren't about to let anyone get away for lack of evidence. Vice agents were in abundance in the rooms to either side, listening and watching their undercover female crew come into the room two at at time, with a John. An unmarked car sat around the corner, waiting to haul the last customer to jail where he would be fingerprinted and photographed, and hopefully never cheat on his wife again, since most of them turned out to be married.

"Have you done this before?" Agent Miena asked Kono, who gave her in inquisitive look. "It takes practice to master heels while walking like this, especially in those boots." She added.

"Nope." Kono answered. "Just lots of practice balancing on a surf board. Who knew it would have such a practical use." She added while waving seductively to a man walking on the other side of the street, a large black van in her field of vision. There were actually two vans, one at each end of the street, manned by Vice agents, just in case something went wrong and the women needed assistance, since none of the three had a place to conceal their gun.

"Well, I for one, am never doing this again." Walton informed them, "My feet are killing me and this push-up bra isn't exactly comfortable." She added, glad that they weren't wearing wires and their colleagues in the vans couldn't hear them.

"Might not be so bad, if you didn't have your badge stuffed between your girls." Kono smirked, Walton nodded, then they all laughed.

"You're lucky if the cleavage comes from a push-up. Wish I could take mine off like that at the end of the day." Miena said, causing Kono and Walton to laugh. "Oh, I wish it was funny. Why do you think I get stuck with this awful assignment every time there's a sting operation?"

Kono couldn't imagine working Vice full-time, she missed her ohana at Five-0 and couldn't wait until this whole IA thing was over so she could get back to working with them. Of course now they had all seen her in this rediculous outfit. Sure, she'd gone undercover before, even on the first case they worked together ending up in her bra and underwear, but somehow this was different. Then she had played a vulnerable girl wanting to help her family, now she played a prostitute out to sell her body for money. It was the job, but it still made her feel dirty.

"Oh goody, here comes another one." Walton said sarcastically, before strolling up to the sidewalk's edge as the car's window rolled down. All she had to do was smile to get the man to ask 'how much?'. "Fifty bucks. Which one of us do you want?" She told him. He nodded, pointing to Kono. "Pull into the parking lot. Room 108."

Two minutes later, "Uh, I thought just one of you was coming." The John said, eyeing Walton as she walked into the room right behind Kono.

The women always went in pairs; the one that had been chosen by the John, and another claiming to be the money collector. The other got to take a much needed break.

"I'm only here for your money. Then I'll be gone and you can have your fun." Walton explains as she flirts, "Unless you wanna pay double and have both of us." He did.

The hours came and went, as did the Johns. It was getting late, or early, depending on if you factored in that it was technically the next day now. They'd made 11 arrests.

THE NEXT DAY...

"It washes off." Miena Says to Walton.

"Yeah, nothing a good bar of soap won't take care of." Walton replies, touching up her lipstick.

"I didn't mean the make-up." Miena clarifies, "I meant the dirty feeling you get from being used in a sting operation like this, from having John after John eye you like the prostitute you're pretending to be. It washes off."

Walton didn't say anything, just nodded. She would take a long hot shower before going home to see her husband and kids.

Kono nodded as well. She couldn't wait to get out of that rediculous outfit and into some 'normal' clothes. She cringed inwardly at remembering Jose telling her that she got to keep the out fit, including the boots. She'd rather burn them.

It had been another busy day for the three women. Sixteen arrests, and they swore it was as if their Johns from the previous day had told all their friends about them, but obviously they weren't making those kinds of calls from jail.

The Vice agents had packed up their surveillance equipment and called it a day. The three women stood on the sidewalk, waiting to be picked up and taken back to the precinct. A black van pulls up and they get in.

AN HOUR LATER, NEAR MIDNIGHT...

"Whadaya mean they're missing?" Steve yells into is phone as he paces his office, running his free hand through his hair. This was bad, really bad.


	3. Chapter 3

Wanna say 'Thank you!' for all the story alerts. Glad you're all enjoying it.

This chapter begins right where chapter 2 ends; with Steve recieving a call from Vice Agent Eppes as Chief Mahaka enters as he concludes his own phone conversation with Sargent Duke Lukela.

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>"THE BOOTS" chapter 3<br>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AN HOUR LATER...

"Whadaya mean they're missing?" Steve yells into is phone as he paces his office, running his free hand through his hair. This was bad, really bad.

"The operation was complete, surveillance agents had packed up all the equipment, then one of the vans went to pick up Miena, Kalakaua, and Walton,... but they were gone." Vice Agent Eppes explains to Steve while trying to stay calm himself. After all, one of his agents was missing, too.

Chief Mahaka walks into Steve's office as he's pocketing his phone, "I just talked to Sargent Lukela. HPD and CSIs are on route. ETA is three minutes."

Steve turns his attention back to the phone, "We're on our way." He informs Eppes before hanging up.

Chief Mahaka takes a few steps closer to Steve, "You want me to tell him?" He asked, knowing that none of them were looking forward to telling Chin that his cousin was missing.

"No." Steve declined, as he stood straight and his jaw set, "I'll do it." And with that, he walked out of his office and called Chin and Danny to the Smart Table area.

Ten minutes, and a lot of explaining, later. "I'll drive." The Chief states to Chin who is clearly surprise. "Two of mine are missing. I don't take that lightly. I'm going with you." He addes, plus, he really didn't want Chin driving right now, something Danny and Steve really didn't want either.

IN DANNY'S CAMARO...

The drive to what was originally an 'operations area' but is now 'the scene' was a tense one. Steve and Danny were in the Camaro. "Breathe, Steve." Danny said.

Steve game him a sideways glare. "If I wasn't breathing, Danny, we'd have crashed by now." He states.

"Right." Danny smirks. He was usually the one who wore his emotions on his sleeve and was surprised at Steve's clearly being upset at the current situation. Not that he blamed him, after all, it was Steve and Kono who took the money, ultimitely resulting in her current situation. Well, not the current situtation, but the situation that lead to her current situation. Danny gave his head a slight shake, he was obviously overthinking this. "Okay, so technically you are breathing, I'll give you that much, but your nuckles are white from your grip on the wheel, and you've clearly got aneurysm face. So, please, do us both a favor and take a deep breath and calm down. Because not only will you not only do Kono any good, but you really will have an aneurysm and kill us both. We clearly won't be much help to Kono that way."

Another sideways glare. Steve knew Danny was right, he needed to be clear headed to help Kono. But the assignment she'd been given put her in a situation with a lot of bad people, like angry Johns and disgruntled pimps and teritorial gangs, and it didn't help that he clearly remembered the outfit she was wearing and those boots that ... okay, he really had to stop overthinking this. He took in a deep breath and let it out in an exagurated fashion, "Happy now?"

It was Danny's turn to give a sideways glare, which was greeted by the still-present aneurism face. "Nope. Not until we get Kono back." Danny answered.

IN CHIN'S VEHICLE...

Chin didn't really appreciate Chief Mahaka being behind the wheel of his vehicle. Although Chin understood the Chief's reluctance to let him drive, it would have be better for him, at least a brief distraction to his cousin being missing. He couldn't stop picturing her in that horrible outfit and those boots. He felt like she was more vulnerable that way, certainly no place to hide a gun. Not that his cousin couldn't protect herself in other ways, it's just that... oh damn, he really should be driving so he'd have something to focus on and stop overthinking this situation.

FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER, AT THE SCENE...

"Charlie." Was all Steve said to announce their presence as he, Danny, Chin, and Chief Mahaka quickly walked up to what was now a crime scene.

"There's nothing here, McGarrett." Charlie says with a slight shake of his head as he lowers the camera he was using to take crime scene photos with. It was obvious he was frustrated, too. "Just common debris on a common sidewalk, and common vehicle marks on a common street."

"Any footage, Duke?" Chin asks as he turns to Sargent Lukela.

"We've getten street footage from that camera." Sargent Lukela answers, gesturing to a street-cam half way down the block. "And Eppes has his agents are checking their surveillance footage from yesterday and today."

"You think it's one of the Johns?" Steve asks no one in particular, as Sargent Lukela steps aside to answer his phone.

"Doubtful. But the ones from yesterday and early today are already out on bail, so we can't discount the possibility." It's Danny who answers.

Sargent Lukela rejoins the group before speaking, "That was the lab, the footage shows a black van that pulled up and picked up all three women." He said, while pocketing his phone. "There were two black Vice vans here earlier. One a block that way, another a block that way." He said, gesturing in each direction as he talks. "But this third black van, it wasn't from Vice and picked them up before one of the Vice vans was supposed to."

"Does the footage show if they were forced into the van?" Chin asks, concern obvious in his voice.

Sargent Lukela shakes his head, "No, Chin. The camera angle doesn't show that. But we have a make, model, and a partial plate, so an APB has already been issues on it for a triple officer abduction."

"I just got a text from Eppes." Chief Mahaka says, still looking at his phone, "His crew has isolated several of the Johns from their footage that exhibited risk factors."

"Chin, I need you back at HQ. I want that footage from the street cam gone over again, frame by frame if you have to. See if you can find us anything else that will help." Steve ordered. He wanted to give Chin something to do to feel useful and he certainly didn't want him going where he and Danny were headed. "Danny and I will head over to Vice and see what they've got."

"I'm on it." Chin stated, determination evident in his voice.

"Come on, Lieutenant Kelly." Chief Mahaka said to Chin before turning to Steve, "I've got to get back to my office anyway. I want to make sure there's a media blackout on this. We don't want whoever obducted the women to realize they're law enforcement."

They all knew the Chief was right. If the obductors found out, the women would be dead soon.

30 MINUTES LATER...

Agent Eppes leads Steve and Danny into an AV room where Vice agents have footage cued and ready for them to see.

"These Johns, in particular, were more interested in giving the women a hard time, one even trying to get out of paying." One of the men said aloud to everyone in the room. Steve and Danny stood behind the man who spoke, looking over his shoulder at the monitor as it played the first video clip.

_'This is hard to watch.'_ Steve thought to himself as he looks at the monitor, watching Kono play her role in the sting operation to the best of her acting abilities. On this first clip they watch as she sits on the edge of the bed leaning back to rest on her elbows, as Miena is trying to get the guy to either pay or leave. The guy ignores Miena and walks over to Kono, standing between her knees and leaning into the mattress. _"I'll pay ya when I see how good she is."_ His words make them sick, but they continue watching as Kono pulls up a knee to place the bottom of her boot on the John's chest, _"Ya gotta pay before you can play."_ They hear her say, and a slight shocking jolt through them.

A moment later the second video clip begins and they watch as another John tries to touch Kono before she playfully slaps his hand away. _'No free samples.'_ they hear her say, and another shocking jolt goes through them. Steve notices Danny posture stiffen and the men give each other a brief sideways glance. Unspoken words exchanged, _'It's a good thing Chin isn't here to see this.'_

On the third video clip they all hear the John say he couldn't blow that much cash, followed by Kono's words about her blowing something. Steve and Danny both try to let that particular shocking jolt go directly to their brains so they wouldn't have to remember what they'd just seen and heard, ever again.

"Saved my favorite for last." They heard the agent who was running the AV room say as the fourth video clip began. Kono was once again laid back on the bed propped up on her elbows. The John couldn't pay Miena fast enough, which was no surprise to any of them as he was a short, fat, bald guy. Kono straightened her leg, slowly sticking it up into the air and twirling her foot around playfully. She then reached behind her thigh and slowly started to unzip her boot, stopping behind her knee, just far enough she could fold down the front of her boot to reveal her badge clipped to a garter on her thigh before she looked at the guy with a smile. _'Busted.'_ she all but whispered to him before the Vice team swarmed into the room to cuff him.

"These four men are our starting points." Eppes said, then Steve and Danny take their leave to start tracking them down. These women were cops, their colleagues, not just Kono, but all of them. They were unarmed, hell they barely had a place to conceal a badge in those outfits, and they were going to find them, no matter what.

HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0

Hope you are enjoying the story so far.

Who do you think took the women?

In the next chapter you will meet Stevie,... and he's nothing like the Steve we're all used to, that's for sure.


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks for all the reviews and story alerts.

It's time for another chapter. See what happens when IA interferes and I have to keep Kono busy... she goes undercover working with Vice and then goes missing. Geez! But our Kono is not exactly your typical damsel in distress type, that's for sure.

I've had a few requests to steer things towards a Steve/Kono ship, but I might as well tell you now, that as a Steve/Catherine fan that that won't be happening. Steve will be concerned for Kono, just like Danny and Chin are. That being said, there are a few lines in this chapter that you can lean in that direction, if that's how you wanna take it.

Since we all love carguments, I threw one in. I hope I did the guys justice and you like it.

My characters for this chapter: Steven 'Stevie' Hill & James 'Jimmy' Swanson.

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>Chapter 4<br>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"These four men are our starting points." Eppes said, then Steve and Danny take their leave to start tracking them down. These women were cops, their colleagues, not just Kono, but all of them. They were unarmed, hell they barely had a place to conceal a badge in those outfits, and they were going to find them, no matter what.

The drive back to HQ was stressful and a bit, well, awkward. Both Steve and Danny still had the images of Kono in those videos bouncing around in their heads. Of course, the words they'd heard her say didn't help matters.

"So, what are we going to say to Chin?" Danny asked from the passenger seat of his own car.

"About what?" Steve asked with a brief sideways glance before turning his eyes back to the road.

"About what? Are you serious?" Danny began, hands already waving, "We both just watched the same thing, Steven. Those videos of Kono with those men, expecting... you know. And her saying,... you know. And you're asking 'about what'?"

"Right." Was Steve's simple reply. Kono was his colleague and he respected her, of course it was also obvious that she was a beautiful woman, hence Vice selecting her for the assignment she'd been given. So to say he preferred the 'speak no evil, think no evil' appraoch in this topic, would be an understatement. Yes, the big, bad Super-SEAL was uncomfortable at the moment.

"Right?" Danny repeated, a tone to his voice that Steve recognized. "So let's just lay the cards out on the table here and-"

"Lay the cards out?" Steve repeated.

"Are you going to keep repeating me?" Danny deadpanned with still hands.

"I'm just saying that-" Steve began.

"Zip it." Danny ordered. "Just, zip it. I know that this is an uncomfortable topic, because Kono is a colleague. But we need to discuss this and reach a united front before we are face-to-face with Chin. Because he looks like he's ready to kill someone, and I'd prefer it wasn't me."

"A 'united front'?" Steve repeated, earning himself another glare from the man in the passenger seat.

"What did I just say about repeating me?" Danny began, but seeing Steve about to speak, he continued, "No, let me just deal with this part since you obviously can't. One," He said, holding up a finger, "we all saw her when Jose was finished with her little, um, 'transformation' shall we say. And when I say 'all', I mean all of Five-0, all of HPD, all of Vice, and probably even the janitor saw her, too. She looked hot, okay, I said it, she looked hot in that outfit, not to mention those boots. She also looked a little pissed off, probably at Jose displaying her and the other women like pieces of meat in front of all of us. Two," Another finger went up, "she was unarmed. Not like she had any place to hide a gun in that outfit. Which means she's not only missing, but still unarmed. Three," Another finger, "If Chin asks about the video Vice showed us, we lie. Because we both know that if he knew the truth, he'd kill us. Well, he'd wanna kill someone, and we'd be in closest proximity. So, we just tell him that we have the names of the four Johns that we need to track down, and that's all. Four," He holds up another finger, "we are never going to repeat any of the words Kono said in those videos. I remember being shocked when she wrote a spoof text a while back on a case, and was shocked then... and I don't mind admitting that I was just now shocked as well." He adds, putting his hands back down.

Steve, sensing that Danny's long-winded rant was over as he was again looking out the passenger side window, decided that it was not okay to speak, "So, we tell Chin nothing."

"Right." Danny agreed.

"You really think she looked hot?" Steve asked in a teasing tone.

"Zip it." Danny replied, still without makeing eye contact.

MEANWHILE, 2:30am, IN A WAREHOUSE...

"Don't give me that bull shit. I wanna know who you're working for!" Stevie shouts at the three women as they all stand in the center of the warehouse.

The black van that had picked up the three women turned out to be driven by Stevie as his co-pimp in the passenger seat Jimmy held a gun on the three women that quickly realized they'd gotten in the wrong van only a second too late.

"There ain't nobody gonna squeeze our territory and get away with it, bitch. Now who ya workin' for?" Jimmy yelled directly into Miena's face.

"We already told you." Miena said, with an intentionally shaky voice. She knew that if she showed her true 'I'm-gonna-kick-your-ass' colors that they'd all be made as cops in a second. That fact was their ace, and they were gonna hold onto it for as long as possible. "We don't know anything about territories."

"Look." Kono spoke up, following Miena's lead, "We were just out to have a little fun, that's all."

"Your cutting into my profits ain't 'fun' for me, bitch." Stevie said, his hand balled into a fist as if to hit her.

"But,... we didn't know. Look, we're sorry. We were just out to,... well, to see if we could do it." Walton said, also playing along.

"Yeah right. Three grown women just out to prove they can score a John. You expect me to believe that crap story?" Stevie yells.

"But it's true." Kono says, concerned that Stevie's fist would soon collide with one of their faces. "Our husbands were all busy working, and we had a little too much to drink, and then came up with this crazy idea... just, ya know,... just to see if we could do it."

"That's all that happened. We've never done anything like this before. We even picked a random place, didn't know anything about it being,... well, taken." Walton adds, hoping their story will stick.

"Put 'em in the room with the others." Stevie orders Jimmy. They would deal with the women later.

BACK AT FIVE-0 HQ...

"You get anything yet?" Chin anxiously asks Steve and Danny as soon as they enter.

"No." Steve and Danny both answer at the same time.

"All 4 men's alibi's check out. Those sleaze-bags may be guilty of adultery, but not kidnapping." Danny answers.

"Well, I've got 3 possible combinations on the partial license plate from the street cam footage that go with that make and model of a black van." Chin informs them.

"Good job, Chin." Steve says before they get started on the newest lead.

BACK AT THE WAREHOUSE...

"You get anything?" Kono asks Walton as the three huddle quietly at one end of the long, narrow room. She so desperately wanted to take off the stiletto boots she was still wearing, but her badge was clipped to a garter and the thigh-high boots were the only thing concealing it. So she settled for rolling her ankles a bit and trying to stretch her calf muscles out as they talked.

"The women I talked to, well, just girls in many cases, are all here after being abducted." Walton quietly informed Miena and Kono. "And that one over there, the blond on the far cot, looks a lot like the Mayor's granddaughter."

"That's the same story I picked up from the ones I talked to. One of 'em even warned us to be careful so we didn't end up like Laura. I'm assuming she means Laura Hopes, the prostitute. HPD is working her homicide case." Miena surmises.

"I got told the same thing." Kono adds. "Now we just have to figure out how to get out of here. That door over there leads back to Stevie and Jimmy in the main part of the warehouse, and that door over there - that leads to God only knows where - has two locks on it. But neither door will do us any good without keys."

"I think I can fit through that window." Miena says, referring to a narrow window up very high on the wall. "I saw stars, so at least we know it leads to the outside."

AT THE LAB...

"Steve!" Chin calls out.

"You got something, Chin?" Steve asks, as he and Danny near the Smart Table.

"I think so. I've picked up a reflection of the drivers face in his side mirror. It's kinda blurry, but I think I can clean the image up a bit." Chin explained.

"Can you cross-check the image with those plate numbers." Danny asks, earning him an 'of course I can' glare from Chin. "Right, never mind."

AT THE WAREHOUSE...

"If we're gonna gain the trust of these women, we're gonna have to blend in, have opportunity to talk to them." Miena says, referring to the 20+ prostitutes locked in the large room with them.

"What about 'safety in numbers'?" Kono asks, "Should we stick together, or spread ourselves out in the room?"

"I agree with Jasmine." Walton said, "We should spread out, and even if something does go down, at least they won't have us all cornered."

The three agree on a plan and chose cots around the large room, wanting to talk to as many of the prostitutes as possible.

AT THE LAB...

"I got 'em, Steve." Chin says as he all but charged into his office, "I ran down the three partials, matched vehicle owners to their drivers license photos, and came up with a match to that image I got off the street cam footage." He explains as he's followed back out to the Smart Table.

"Steven Hill." Steve reads aloud from the file Chin had up on the large wall monitor. "Goes by 'Stevie'. He's a low-life pimp, workin' his girls in the warehouse district in this area." He says, gesturing to a map on the other wall screen.

"Okay, but I can't picture one pimp grabbing a cop, a detective, and a Vice agent all by himself." Danny says with corresponding hand movements.

"He's got a partner." Chin says, swiping another file up on the wall screen. "Meet James Swanson. He goes by 'Jimmy' on the streets and runs Hill's money laundering for him."

"We got an address?" Steve asks.

Chin shakes his head, "The only address we've ever had on him was at his mother's place in Wahiawa."

"Check into property holdings for both Hill and Swanson. It may give us a lead on where they're holding them." Steve says, rubbing his eyes. It was now early morning and none of them had slept. Nor would they sleep, until Kono was found.

HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0

I hope you enjoyed the little cargument I threw in there. Can never get enough of those.

Do you think Steve and Danny wise for not telling Chin about the details of their trip to Vice's HQ?

Coming up in chapter 5 - The women have a plan, but will it work?

Now make my muse happy (and keep her typing) and leave a review before you go. Thanks!


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks for the reviews and all the adds. You make my muse happy!

You will get a closer - and surprising - look at Abby Webster in this chapter.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
>"THE BOOTS" chapter 5<br>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **

AT FIVE-0 HQ...

"Check into property holdings for both Hill and Swanson. It may give us a lead on where they're holding them." Steve says, rubbing his eyes. It was now early morning and none of them had slept. Nor would they sleep, until Kono was found.

AT THE WAREHOUSE, NOW ABOUT 6am...

"You get any sleep?" Miena asks Kono as she approaches her cot.

Kono shakes her head, "Not in this place. You?"

Miena also shakes her head. "This place is filthy."

"I think I heard a rat nibbling at the bottom of my cot all night." Walton says with a shudder, as she approaches and taking a seat next to the other two.

"We've gotta get outta here. We can't help these women if we don't get outta here." Miena says, keeping her voice low.

"If we timed it right, we could take Stevie and Jimmy down. But if we leave without the women, they'll have them gone before we can get back with backup." Kono says. Walton agrees.

"I'm not convinced we should take that risk, since they have a gun. What if I go out the window and go for backup alone?" Miena suggests.

"You're the only one who'll fit through that tiny thing." Walton says.

THREE HOURS LATER...

There is a noise at the door, it's being unlocked. Stevie and Jimmy enter the room. The girls working the early shift would soon be taken by van to their locations for the day.

"You three!" Stevie yells, "Get out here!"

Miena, Kono, and Walton all comply, slowly walking into the main part of the warehouse. Again, acting scared.

"I'm only gonna ask you one more time." Stevie says, "Who are you workin' for? And don't tell me that same crap story you tried yesterday, 'cause housewives don't dress like that." He added, referring to the women's attire.

"Halloween is coming up. This costume was easy to find." Kono insisted.

"We want the truth." Jimmy orders.

"We already told you." Kono begins, "Until yesterday, we were just three bored housewives, feeling a little sorry for ourselves while our husbands are all out of town, until we came up with this stupid idea-"

"Stupid idea?" Miena interrupts, "Who's idea you callin' stupid?"

"Yeah," Walton chimes in, playing along, since the game had obviously changed, "We just said, 'let's do something new and different'."

"Hey, you're the one with kids," Kono says to Walton in an irritated tone of voice, "You're the one who felt 'old' and 'boring'."

"I kinda like these cat fights." Jimmy says to Stevie a minute later, after they'd watched things escalate to the point of yelling between the three women.

"Yeah, well, I don't have time to watch a chick fight right now." Stevie replies. "Shut up!" He suddenly yells at the women, then roughly ushers them back into the locked room.

After the door locks behind them the three women smiled at each other. Then Miena ripped the heels off her shoes as Kono and Walton position a cot under the window to stand on. A minute later Miena stands precariously on their shoulders, a pillow case wrapped around her hand in case she needs to break the glass, struggling to reach a pipe on the wall to use to reach the window. It takes several minutes and several tries before succeeding.

"Don't look back." Walton whisper-shouts to her as she squeezed herself through the tiny window.

"Just keep going, no matter what." Kono encourages her, knowing she and Walton will incur any fallout if Miena is discovered missing.

"Let's get this cot moved back, before they suspect something." Kono says, grabbing one end.

"Too late." Walton warns, gesturing to Abbie Webster, the Mayor's granddaughter, who had begun banging on the locked door and yelling for Stevie and Jimmy. All the other women in the room had kept quiet, hoping the tiny petite blond would make it out the window and get help for them all.

Walton and Kono rush over, grabbing Abbie, trying to quieten her. "That won't do any good." One of the girls speeks up. "She may be in here with us, but she's still their rat."

Abbie continues yelling untill the door opens and Stevie enters. Walton and Kono both rushing him like football players tackling an opponent with the ball. They knock him down, sending his gun sliding along the floor. Abbie runs out, hopeing to grab the gun, but several of the girls run after and restrain her, allowing Walton to reach the gun first. She immediately grabs Stevie's jacket, hoping the keys are in the pocket, then ushers all the girls back into the room, away from the fight between Kono and Stevie.

"Get 'em outta here!" She hears Kono yell. She knew her colleague could defend herself and probably take Stevie down as well. But right now their priority was to protect those girls, even Abbie, and get them out of there. Once back inside the room, she forced herself to remain calm. Several of the girls restrained Abbie, who would run back out to Stevie if given the chance, while she trys key after key on the ring, needing first to lock the door they've just come through, then open the large metal door, hoping it leads to the outside.

AT THE PRECINCT...

"Hill is the registered owner of this property right here, and right here, and another one right here." Chin says, referring to locations on the map. "These warehouses are listed under a fake company name, so it took a while to get through all the red tape and facades. And there's no cell phone registered to either Hill or Swanson."

"We'll split up with SWAT and check 'em all out a lot faster." Steve says, putting on his kevlar. No one was taking one of their ohana and getting away with it.

MEANWHILE...

Miena hadn't needed the pillow case for the window, but it came in handy as she found the warehouse's parking lot surrounded by a chain link fence topped with barbed wire. She endured several cuts, but made it over the fence and took off running.

At the moment, her feet were carrying her as fast as they could to the nearest public place to find a phone. She ran about two miles before spotting a deli.

"I need a phone!" Miena yells as she enters the front door of the deli, as best she can from running so hard and fast.

"Pay phone's around the corner." The deli owner says in a monotone voice without even looking up from the sandwich he is making.

"This is police business! I've got two HPD cops in trouble and I need a phone! Now!" Miena yells. As the deli owner looks up, three customers have already extended their phone-clad hands to the Vice Agent.

**HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0**

So, we've got Miena running off for help, Walton trying to lock herself and the girls in the room away from the fight, and Kono going all kick-ass on Stevie. Oh yeah, and the guys about to split up in three different directions, hoping one of them will lead them to the missing women. But will all go according to plan?


	6. Chapter 6

It's time for another chapter, and for help to arrive.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
><strong>"THE BOOTS" chapter 6<strong>  
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<p>

"This is police business! I've got two HPD cops in trouble and I need a phone! Now!" Miena yells. As the deli owner slowly looks up, three customers have already extended their phone-clad hands to the Vice Agent.

HPD PARKING LOT...

"Hold up!" Eppes calls out over the roof of his car to everyone as they are already loaded up and about to head out in three different directions. "I just got a call from Agent Miena. They're being held at the warehouse on Marshall Avenue. Scratch the other two warehouses, everyone head to the one on Marshall Avenue!" He loudly instructs.

Chin was driving the lead car with Sargent Lukela in shotgun. Steve and Danny are right behind them. "He's gonna get himself killed, driving like that." Danny says as he flinches again. He was used to Steve's crazy driving, but Chin was always the calm one.

"He's gotta get to her, Danny. He doesn't care about anything else right now." Steve says, grateful for the lights and sirens that were helping clear a path in the traffic.

MEANWHILE...

Walton had succeeded in finding the key it took to lock them into the room, away from the fight currently going on between Kono and Stevie. Walton was now repeating the process to find, not just one key, but two, for the two separate locks on the large metal door. If this door didn't lead to the outside, she was gonna be mad.

Kono was tired, but there was no way she was letting up. She knew Stevie was tired, too, but he had a lot to lose, and there was no way he was giving up either. So the punches and kicks continued.

TWO MILES AWAY AT THE DELI...

Chief Mahaka pulls up in front of the deli, Miena barely in the passenger seat before they take off.

AT THE WAREHOUSE...

"Yes!" Walton shouts as the door finally opens, even happier that it was to the outside as they'd hoped for.

"But, the fence." One of the girls questions, disappointment and fear obvious in her voice.

"Don't worry about it, dear." Walton assures in a comforting tone, as she can hear the sirens in the distance. "Let's wait over there." She instructs, gesturing to a spot a little closer to the gate.

Chin let the SWAT vehicle take the lead, knowing they'd use the grill of their SUV to ram the fence open, allowing he HPD, Vice, and other SWAT vehicles to enter and surround the warehouse.

One of the SWAT vans veer right just inside the gate, stopping near Walton and the young women she had with her, who were quickly loaded into the van to be taken to the hospital and checked out. Walton joins a team of 3 SWAT members to cover the back door she had come out of. But the keys she had used previously were now useless, as the door was self-locking and keyed from the inside only. So they search for another point of entry.

Kono could hear the sirens, lots of them, and hear the crashing of the front gate. She knew her ohana would be with them, that they wouldn't stop till they found her. But until they actually managed to reach them, she and Stevie would continue their exchange of punches and kicks.

Chin's heart was pounding and he'd barely got the car in park before exiting. SWAT fanned themselves out around the building, looking for every door and window they could find to get in. Steve and Danny joined Chin and Sargent Lukela at the front door, two officers ready with a large door ram. Steve gave the signal, the door is busted open and they all enter, guns at the ready.

Kono can hear the door being busted down. Help was now in the building, now they just had to get to her. They probably thought that would be the easy part, she knew it wouldn't.

**HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0**

So, help has arrived, but they still have to get to Kono to help her. More about that in the next chapter.


	7. Chapter 7

For story info/disclaimer/etc. see intro to chapter 1

The guys arrived at the warehouse in the last chapter, but things are not going to be as easy as that, now are they? ... Of course not.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
><strong>"THE BOOTS" chapter 7<strong>  
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<p>

Kono can hear the door being busted down. Help was now in the building, now they just had to get to her. They probably thought that would be the easy part, she knew it wouldn't be.

Chin carried a shot gun with a flashlight on it, aimed and ready. He didn't need it. Well, the flashlight part anyway. He could see Kono right away. The warehouse was sectioned off in a way he'd never seen before. Once inside the front door, you were in the main part of the warehouse as expected, but there was chain link fencing, floor to ceiling, to get through. The fencing ran around three sides of the large open space, like a 6' wide wrap around hallway, leaving the middle almost like a giant cage... and that was, of course, where Kono was, as was Stevie Hill. This was not good.

Chin and Lukela went right, Steve and Danny went left. At the end of the make-shift hallway - as if the fencing was a substitute for a wall - Chin and Lukela came to stairs that led to a loft at the far end of the warehouse, above the room the women had been kept in and looked out over the warehouse. Chin could still see Kono easily, but none of them could get to her yet.

Stevie punched Kono again, sending her back onto a stack of crates. She took opportunity to plant the toe of her boot in his gut, which sent him back on his ass, she then took off for the stairs. She thought that if she could just reach the top, she might find a way to let Chin and Lukela in. She could hear her cousin calling to her as she neared the top, but Stevie was right behind her and grabbed her by the ankle, sending them both tumbling painfully back to the bottom. Kono made it to her feet first and flipped Stevie over onto his stomach, pinning an arm behind him. But his elbow made painful contact with the side of her head as he struggled to flip himself back over to regain some control. Stevie could see the officers all around them, separated only by the chain link fencing they hadn't gotten through, yet. He could also hear their voices calling out to him to 'freeze' and knew several guns were trained on him. In other words, he had nothing to lose and wasn't about to go down without a fight.

Steve had had all he could take. He wasn't about to continue standing there helpless as Kono was taking blows like that. "Come with me!" He orders Danny, and they run back around the make-shift/chain-link hallway. "Wait here. And stay clear!" Steve orders again, then takes off back out the front door they had entered through.

"Where's he going?" Chin asks, as he and Lukela return from their side, frustrated at not having any luck getting through the chain-link fencing.

"I don't kn-" Danny started to say, just as one of the SWAT van's came crashing through the front door and keeps going till it had also crashed through the fencing, stopping almost in the center of the warehouse.

Steve slams on the brakes as soon as he knows the SWAT van is clear of the fencing, leaving plenty of room for team members to get in. "Freeze!" He yells as he exits the vehicle, pointing his gun at Stevie.

Kono blocks another punch, before sending one of her own to Stevie's jaw. She can hear her boss yelling at Stevie, who is obviously not listening or caring. Suddenly he takes her to the ground, the back of her head hitting the concrete floor as he begins to choke her. Kono brings her hands up between his arms to break his hold as she also brings her right leg around and kicks him off her. This sends him backwards onto the floor with a thud.

Kono doesn't move. She doesn't have to. She remains on her back looking up at Five-0 and SWAT members as they surround her. It was finally over. If Stevie dared move, they could deal with him.

"Don't you mo-" Chin starts to yell, his gun trained on Stevie. He didn't finish his sentence, but lowered the shotgun instead.

Silence.

"Kono," Danny finally says rather quietly as he holsters his gun, then crouches down beside her.

She looks up at his concerned blue eyes, 'Why is he talking to me like that?' Kono wonders to herself, exhausted and just laying there, still trying to catch her breath. She looks around, noticing that Chin and Steve were looking at Stevie, then realising that everyone else was looking at Stevie, too. She struggles a bit to sit up, feeling resistance, then she sees it. Her boot. When she had kicked Stevie off of her, the stiletto heel of her boot had gone through his neck. They all watch as Steve checks for a pulse, but he just shakes his head. There's nothing to say. Stevie is dead.

Kono slowly runs her hand down the back of her leg, undoing the long zipper to release her leg and foot from the boot. She then slides herself back a few feet away from the body before removing the other boot, which she leaves on the floor before walking away.

**HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0**

They finally found Kono - and - made it to her.

Can you just picture Stevie laying dead on the floor with Kono's boot sticking out of his neck as she walks away? Well, the long, narrow stilleto heel of it, anyway.

Not done yet. One more chapter to go.


	8. Chapter 8

Thought this would be the final chapter, but looking like there will be one more.  
>Thank you all for reading and leaving comments.<p>

**"THE BOOTS" chapter 8**

Kono slowly runs her hand down the back of her leg, undoing the long zipper to release her leg and foot from the boot. She then slides herself back a few feet away from the body before removing the other boot, which she leaves on the floor before walking away.

A FEW MINUTES LATER...

Steve walks around to the back of the SWAT van that he'd previously crashed through the building's door and gate, that had yet to be removed from inside the warehouse. There he find Kono setting against it's bumper, an ice pack held to her head and biting her nails like Chin had told him she did when she was tense. He can only imagine how she must hate the outfit she is still in, how degrading it must be, so he does the only thing he can think of; he removes the button-up shirt he has on over his t-shirt and places it around her shoulders, wanting to offer her some sort of modesty at the moment.

She rewards his thoughtfulness with a slight smile of appreciation, just enough to show her dimples that make her look much younger than she is.

"I need her at the ambulance, sir. Agent Eppes' orders." A paramedic says, addressing Steve.

"She'll be over in a few minutes." Danny assures the medic as he and Chin also come to stand by Kono, then watches the paramedic nod and walk away. For the first time he is glad his partner is a tall man, as his shirt that Kono now has draped over her is long enough to cover most of the outfit she is wearing.

"Let me see, Cuz." Chin says, attempting to move the ice pack aside so he can survey the damage for himself.

Kono looks up, making eye contact with him. "I'm okay, Cuz." She assures him at seeing the concerned look on his face. She was lying. Every part of her body hurt, that was one hell of a fight she had with Stevie. But she was not about to let anyone see her weak, not even him.

"I know you will be, but for right now you still need to get checked out." Chin reminds her, doing his best to conceal his emotions, which was hard, even for the mild-mannered even-tempered man. After searching for her, then finding her, and even being able to see her, but not being able to reach her. And now, now she stood before him, safe, but he knew she was lying about being 'fine' as the bruises that were now forming were a dead giveaway to the truth of how much pain she must be in. Besides, she was biting her nails, a dead giveaway to those that knew.

"I will. I just,... I just don't wanna be fussed over at the moment." Kono says, that part being true.

"That would probably be easier if you weren't bleeding." Danny states, as he hands her a hankerchief with one hand, while gesturing to her chin with the other, because that's where blood is about to drip from her split lip.

"What can you tell us about Abbie Webster, the Mayor's granddaughter?" Steve asks, changing to a subject that will make her more comfortable, although the sight of her eye starting to swell is making him uncomfortable.

"Most of the women here, were here of their own accord. But the younger girls, many of them were abducted, including Abbie. It appears that she came to like it here. Probably the attention, the clothes, being made to feel grown up and special. One of the girls told us that she was Stevie and Jimmy's 'rat among them'." She says, sliding her arms into the sleeves of Steve's shirt to better cover herelf.

"Speaking of 'Jimmy'." Steve says, "Any idea where he is?"

Kono shook her head, "No. He split earlier, leaving just Stevie here with us. Went to drop off more girls, I think, but never came back."

"We'll get an APB out on the van. It was the same one they used to pick you up." Danny says, while taking his phone out, then walks away to make the call to dispatch.

"Come on, Kono." Steve says, gesturing towards the ambulance, "They're waiting for you."

Kono looks over, seeing Eppes headed her way and stands up. She nods, giving in before Eppes can reach her, then slowly heads for the ambulance, Chin right beside her. She would never admit it, but she is grateful for his steadying arm around her shoulder.

Sargent Lukela was at the ambulance, taking statements from Miena and Walton. "Hey, Kono." They all greet her.

Walton's being checked over was meerly to follow protocol, but Miena had numerous cuts on her hands and forearms from the barbed wire at the top of the fence she had climed over earlier to escape.

"What a waste." Walton says, as Dr. Bergman and his ME assistant wheel Steven Hill's bagged body past them, the zipper part way open with most of the boot sticking out of it. Bergman would not remove the boot's stiletto heel from Stevie's neck until his body was back at the morgue.

"Yeah, of a perfectly good pair of boots." Miena says, obviously having no tolerance for those in the pimping business. "And a perfectly good pair of pumps, too." She adds, gesturing to the heelless shoes still on her feet.

Steve takes out his cell phone and calls Jenna Kaye, who had stayed at HQ where she had better computer access to help them. "Hey, any luck tracking down Jimmy?" Steve asks once he has her on speaker.

"No. He's still in the wind. He has no cell phone, no residence, and there's no luck yet spotting the van." Jenna replies.

"He was talking on a cell phone earlier." Walton informs.

"Then how's there no record of it?" Kono asks.

"It's just not registered in his name, so with no clue as to who's name it is under..." Danny says, trailing off.

"His mother." Chin blurts out. "The only contact info we could get on him was his mother's address. She's an elderly lady that thinks her son can do no wrong."

"So, maybe she's added his phone to her cell's family plan." Steve finishes for him.

"I'm on it." Jenna says before hanging up.

Once Miena, Kono, and Walton all finish at the ambulance, they are load into a Vice SUV for transport back for debriefing.

LATE THAT EVENING...

Steve knocked on Kono's door. He'd given Chin some paperwork to finish, to delay him, so he could have a chance to check on Kono for himself before her cousin got there. "We got 'im." Steve says as soon as she opens her front door.

"Good." Was her simple reply, accompanied by a sigh of relief, as she steps aside to let him enter.

Steve entered and slowly sets a sack of Chinese food on the table, taking the extra moment to take in her appearance. Her hair is still wet from an obvious shower, but her arms were red. "Did it work?" He asks.

She noticed the expression on his face. It wasn't quite 'serious', but maybe more 'concerned', she figured. "Did what work?" She questions, not sure what he is referring to.

"You've just spent two long days dressed and acting like like a prostitute, being treated like a piece of meat for men to ogle and fantasize about. And now your arms are red, either from a scalding hot shower or from scrubbing yourself raw. Either way, wanting to get it all off of you." He pauses, "Did it work?" He asks again.

"I wish it had." She replies, and it occures to her that Agent Miena had been wrong when she told Detecitve Walton that it would wash off. There is another knock at her door.

She opens it to find Danny standing there, "We got 'im." He states as she gestures for him to enter. "But, you already knew that." He adds at seeing Steve standing there, then sets the sack of Italian food on the table.

"Yeah." She says, "I heard."

"You okay?" Danny asks her in a concerned tone and surprisingly still hands, taking in her appearance, especially her black and blue eye that is swolen partly shut.

"Like I said earlier, I will be." She answers with a heavy sigh, glad at least that she had track-style pants on. At least they couldn't see the bruises on her legs.

"Come on, Kono, talk to us." Steve urged, taking a step closer to her.

She looked away for a moment, then turned back to the men and gestured for them to sit on her couch. She didn't really want to talk about it, but knew them well enough to know they wouldn't give up. Besides, she'd rather talk to Steve and Danny and get it over with, before her cousin showed up, and she knew he wouldn't be far behind the others. She took a seat across from them before speaking, "Where do the girls come from? How do they end up like that? What will they do to get out?" She asked without making eye contact, as if thinking out loud. She pauses and grapped the small pillow next to her, hugging it to her chest. "It's all just so messed up. Most of those girls could've left. They could've gotten out of there. But they didn't. Some have no place to go, except right back to the hell-hole they ran away from. Some are so ashamed of what they've done that they would rather keep selling themselves than face it. Then there are girls like Abbie Webster, who start out abducted, but end up staying for the thrill. Then the ones like Laura Hopes, who try to escape, or even think about it, end up dead."

"You're right, Kono. It's messed up." Danny agrees, noticing that she had finally made eye contact with him. He gives a sideways glace to his partner, neither man having anything to add. It was messed up, really messed up, and some things in life you just can't change.

Another knock at the door pulls the three's attention from the heavyness that had settled in the room. Kono stands and answers it to see her cousin there. Just who she expected.

"We got 'im." He announced with barely a foot across the threshold, then quickly realizes, at seeing his colleagues presence, she already knew that.

Chin places a sack of Mexican food on the table before giving his cousin a gentle hug, careful not to hurt her. "How ya doin', cuz?" He asks, taking in her appearance just as the others had done.

Kono can't help but smirk, then gestures to her bruise covered face, which included a swolen eye and crusted-over split lip, "Well, clearly I can't hide how I'm doing." She said, then pauses. "But it's nothing some comfort food, an ice pack, and a little sleep won't fix." She adds, with a familiar twinkle in her eye as she tries to lighten the mood. "Now, let's eat. You guys have brought enough food to feed the whole bullpen."

The rest of the evening is spent with a familar and comforting feeling of Ohana, the guys filling Kono in on their case of trying to find the Mayor's missing granddaughter Abby Webster, then nothing else was said about the previous two days. They talked about and everything non-work related until finally Kono pushed all three men out her front door, telling them she was fine and they could go home.

THE NEXT DAY...

Yep, looks like I was right, there will need to be one more chapter to wrap this story up and for you to find out what happens the next day.  
>Please leave a review before you go.<p> 


	9. Chapter 9

Ya all rember Detectives Ikaika Paulo and Tiko Apo from chapter 1, right. Well, they're back for this final chapter. Enjoy...

Kono can't help but smirk, then gestures to her bruise covered face, which included a swolen eye and crusted-over split lip, "Well, clearly I can't hide how I'm doing." She said, then pauses. "But it's nothing some comfort food, an ice pack, and a little sleep won't fix." She adds, with a familiar twinkle in her eye as she tries to lighten the mood. "Now, let's eat. You guys have brought enough food to feed the whole bullpen."

The rest of the evening is spent with a familar and comforting feeling of Ohana, the guys filling Kono in on their case of trying to find the Mayor's missing granddaughter Abby Webster, then nothing else was said about the previous two days. They talked about anything and everything non-work related until finally Kono pushed all three men out her front door, telling them she was fine and they could go home.

THE NEXT DAY...

_'The tourists weren't going to be happy today._' Kono thought to herself as she dodged the rain drops getting to the Employee Entrance door at HPD. Actually, they were more like rain plops, as the rain built up on the large leaves of the trees that lined the walkway, then said leaves would suddenly tip under the weight of the water they bore, sending a nice plop of water onto someone's head or down their back. Hopefully the rain would stop soon, the sun would come out, and therefore the tourists would come out. The island's economy depended heavily on it, and Kono's personal economy right now depended on her continuing to take work from HPD while she awaited IA's decision.

She walked into HPD's bullpen, heading for her desk with her head down to help conceal the buises. 'Her temporary desk', she reminded herself. Or at least she hopes it is just temporary. It still felt weird to not be going into Five-0's HQ. She missed it. She missed having her own office, working with the guys. All of it, she just missed it all.

Setting her coffee cup down, she heard a noise. Sighing heavily at the thought that thunder could be added to the conditions just outside the window, she pushed the button to start her computer.

There it was again, that same noise. But this time Kono realized it was not coming from outside, or weather related at all. She turned, searching for the sourse and found Detective Tiko Apo behind his desk, rising to his feet as he brough his hands together again. And then again, and then again.

Clapping. His hands were now in a regular clapping rhythm as he stared at her. And then another detective joined in. And then another.

"I'm not sure if this is about your good work in helping bust a prostitution ring, or if it's because they're glad you're back safe. But either one works for me, Officer Kalakaua." Sargeant Duke Lukela said as he now stood beside her with a genuine and warm smile on his face.

Kono turned to face the older native Hawaiian, even though she knew she was blushing slightly. "Mahalo, Sarg." She said as he backed away to turn and leave with an afirming nod.

"Maybe Apo is just glad you aren't wearing those boots again." Detective Ikaika Paulo said from behind Kono. "Afraid you might plant one of 'em on his chair again." He added with a smirk.

_'Oh, I'd like to plant one of 'em somewhere, alright.'_ Kono thought to herself as she crossed her arms over her chest in a defensive stance and leveled him with a glare. She knew that anything she could say to him would be taken the wrong way. That's just the way Paulo's mind worked. 'Silence is the flower' she remembered Wo Fat saying. Well, at least the man got one thing right.

"Ya know, I wouldn't mind seeing those boo-" Paulo began. But that's as far as he got.

The next thing he knew he was face down on Kono's desk with his nose awkwardly squished against a stapler, his arm twisted behind him.

The tinkering noise of pencils hitting the floor from the spilled holder on her desk caused several heads to turn. But no one moved.

Kono leaning over Paulo and whispered something in his ear. He'd imagined parts of this scenario, specifically this last part; just not for this reason.

"Am I interrupting something?" Detective Caroline Walton asked as she approached Kono's desk.

"Oh hi, Caroline." Kono said, looking up to smile at the detective without releasing her grip on Paulo. "No, you're not interrupting at all. What can I do for you."

"Just dropping off a copy of my report, in case you had anything to add." Walton replied, as she set the papers down and continued to eye Paulo.

"Hey, Cuz." Both women heard as they looked up to see Chin coming over, followed by Danny and Steve. Chin paused and crossed his arms over his chest before speaking, "Everything alright here, Cuz?"

"Mhmm." She mumbled with a smile, yet still without releasing her grip on Paulo, who was beginning to squirm. And who could blame the guy, after all, most of the bullpen was staring at him, and was... was that an eraser he felt wedged between his ear and the desk top?

"Ah, Officer Kalakaua." Max said as he now appraoched as well.

'What the hell? Does Kalakaua need to hold a freakin' reunion right this minute?' Paulo seethed to himself as he again tried to squirm out of the woman's grip without success.

"What can I do for you, Dr. Bergman?" Kono asked Max, but got no reply. "Dr. Bergman?" She repeated, noticing he was not looking at her or responding.

"Oh, uh, sorry," Max mumbled as he tore his gaze away from the man with his arm pinned behind his back in obvious discomfort. "I, uh, have something for you from Vice Agent Eppes."

Kono just smiled, "You could have just called. I would have stopped by."

"No." Max replied wrather suddenly. "I mean, I, uh. I don't like telephones." He stated, "Anyway, these are for you." Max said, pulling the boots out of a bag and holding them up. "Agent Eppes said that the case is closed so they are not needed for evidence, besides they have all the CSI photos if needed, and their props department does not want them back. So, he said you could have them,..." He paused at seeing the look on her face, "... or that you could decide what to do with them." He half asked.

Kono sighed heavily and unconsciously tightened her grip on Paulo before taking a deep breath, "No thank you, Dr. Bergman." She said as politely as she could muster, hating the very idea that her colleagues were even hearing this.

"Um, alright." Max said, not sure what to do with the boots he still held.

"Anybody want 'em?" Kono half offered and half joked.

In the brief silent pause that took place, several mind was working at once.

For Chin, he wondered if Malea would wear them. He was sure she would, if he asked her to. But the idea of his cousin knowing he would be giving them to his now-again girlfriend, well, posed a problem.

For Danny, he still wished things had worked out between him and Rachel, because he would definitely love to see her wear them for him. In fact, hmm, he was sure she had a pair similar to those once. Damn, one more thing of his Step-Stan was now enjoying.

For Steve, his mind went to Catherine. She would be back on dry land in just a few short weeks and damn those long legs of hers would do those boots justice. Yeah, she might be willing to wear them for him. Or, she would put him in a choke hold for suggesting it. He wasn't sure which.

"I'll take 'em." Walton said before any of the men could complete their thoughts. "My husband is gonna love these." She gushed, eyeing the boots Max held out for her to take, then walked away to put them in her locker as the ME also deparated.

"So, what brings you guys here?" Kono asked the guys.

They all silently looked at her, then began looking at each other. It was Danny who finally spoke first... with accompanying hand getures, of course. "Before we answer that, you uh, mind telling us what's up with your new paper weight here." He said gesturing to Paulo, who was still leaning across her desk.

Kono looked down at Paulo. "Oh, this guy."

"Yes, Kono. That guy." Steve confirmed.

The men were all curious, but none of them wanted to imply that she needed help in dealing with anything, so they all made out as if only curious in the matter.

"Paulo!" Came the booming voice of Sargeant Lukela as he searched for the detective. "What the-" He paused as he approched Kono's desk. "Will you quit slacking off." He barked.

Kono released Paulo's arm before taking a step back and crossing her arms over her chest, again. He quickly stood up and began rubbing at his sore shoulder. Then at the dent on his face left behind from the stapler as he sulked off after the Sarg. "I wasn't slacking off." He attempted to say to the Lukela's back.

_'I'm gonna keep my mouth shut. I'm gonna keep my mouth shut.'_ Chin began to repeat to himself as he watched the Detective walk away pulling something small and blue out of his ear. Was that an eraser?

"So, what brings you guys here?" Kono repeated as if nothing unusual had happened.

"We just finished a press conference with the Governor and the Mayor, and thought we'd swing by to fill you in on Abby Webster." Steve explained as he tried to ignore what had just taken place.

"Turns out, you were right." Danny continued. "She was abducted, but ended up staying for the demented thrill."

"All the attention she recieved, and the clothes Stevie bought her. Made her feel grown up and special, just like you said." Chin added.

"But she's gonna get the help she needs now, thanks to you, Walton, and Miena. You three did good work, Kono." Steve concluded.

"That's good. Hopefully she will come out of this a stronger person." Kono said.

"Kalakaua!" came a call from the other side of the bullpen.

Kono nodded in confirmation, then turned back to the guys, "I've gotta go, guys."

"Okay, we'll see you for beers tomorrow night." Steve said.

"Grace is back and looking forward to her surfing lesson this weekend." Danny added.

"Don't forget this Sunday's brunch for Auntie Paulina's birthday." Chin said.

Kono watched as the guys departed, wishing more than anyting that she were going with them. She missed working with them so much. But she couldn't dwell on that now, she had work to do, so she made her way across the bullpen to where she was introduced to Captain Vincent Fryer.

THE END

**HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0, HF-0**

You all didn't think I was gonna let Detective Ikiaka Paulo get away with treating Kono like that, did ya? Of course not.

Was Kono being introduced to Captain Fryer necessary, or did that take place after he had broken into her home? That's for you to decide.

Since it rather peeved me that Steve and Danny appeared to have ignored Kono in early S2, I made sure it wasn't that way here.

Obviously Bori-Lori does not exist in my world, therefore she did not exist in my story either.

What did Kono whisper into Paulo's ear? 1) "Oh, I'd like to plant my boot somewhere, alright." like she'd thought 2) Something sleezy and seducitve, just to tease him 3) Something angry and vindictive 4) Something else entirely Well, again, that's for you to decide.

Thanks for reading and please leave a review before you go.


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